Guyuan in Ningxia had the honor of joining the Cities with Nature partnership initiative late last month. Confirmed at the 16th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (COP16), Guyuan is the only city in Northwest China to sign up to the initiative to date.

The Cities With Nature partnership is a global initiative held under the framework of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity’s Conference of the Parties parallel event — the Summit for Subnational Governments and Cities. It aims to showcase and recognize cities and regions that have achieved outstanding results in biodiversity conservation, working together to promote the implementation of global biodiversity governance goals.

Nestled in the Liupan Mountains, Guyuan is a national ecological civilization demonstration zone with innovation bases in Jingyuan and Longde counties. Committed to green development, Guyuan prioritizes ecological protection as a foundation for high-quality growth, following an eco-first approach in line with new development goals. 

Guyuan in Ningxia joins the Cities With Nature partnership initiative at the 16th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity last month. [Photo/The Publicity Department of Guyuan City]

At the same time, Guyuan has been advancing efforts to plant and protect greenery, effectively strengthening the ecological security barrier of the Liupan Mountain area.

In the past three years, Guyuan has completed a total of 77,530 hectares of land greening and treated 1,074 square kilometers of soil erosion. The city's forest coverage rate, grassland vegetation coverage, and the protection rate of key wild animals and plants have reached 16.07, 87 and 96 percent, respectively. In addition, the proportion of days with excellent air quality has remained above 91 percent, while the water quality at eight national surface water monitoring points and four district monitoring points has been consistently rated as excellent. The quality of soil and groundwater has remained stable.

The landscape of Guyuan in Ningxia. [Photo/The Publicity Department of Guyuan City]